Nuke Officers...are the least knowledgeable...lack true leadership...are 'Yes' men.
Again I will submit not all officers are the same. Such broad generalizations about any group are rarely universal truths.
If this is indeed your experience (and who am I to say it isn't?) I submit your command(s) must have sucked. I have worked with a few officers who, like myself, had no problem telling an Eng, XO, or CO they were screwed up when it was warranted (albeit in a more politically correct tone). I have, on occasion, paid the price for my insolence. I have even, on rare occasions, won the argument.
A good leadership tenet is to complain up the chain-of-command vice down. There is a good scene in "Saving Private Ryan" where Tom Hanks talks about this very thing (ie not complaining in front of the troops when a command decision is FUBAR). Is there even a remote possibility these arguments on your behalf occurred out of your hearing, but were simply lost? To enforce a decision with which you disagree is a bitter pill to swallow, but can sometimes be a quality of good leadership.
When an Ops director dreams up a new (perhaps cumbersome) management expectation, passes it on to the shift ops superintendent, who puts it out to the shift managers, who in turn put it out to the first line supervisor SROs (some of whom were even former O-gangers), who then have to put it out to a group of PO'd union operators. Who exhibited the real leadership in this situation?
When the first line supervisor pushes back against the policy/expectation (because, unlike the military, a questioning attitude is highly encouraged in the commercial world) it doesn't take a great deal of leadership courage. You will either win or lose, so why not fight the good fight. Of course, one must choose his battles wisely.
Regards,
Rich
(former dumb, weak "yes-man", turned SRO)